Living a few hours from Palm Springs, I’m no stranger to mid-century design. There’s an entire week in February, in fact, devoted to the architecture and design style.

What’s been termed “one of the best-preserved mid-century hotels in the country,” however, is in Scottsdale Arizona: The Hotel Valley Ho.

Valley Ho entrance

Built in 1956, the Valley Ho was immediately successful, and primed Scottsdale for decades of future growth. The property quickly attracted Hollywood stars: Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood threw a wedding reception at the Valley Ho; Jimmy Durante played the piano in the lounge when he couldn’t sleep. The list goes on: Bette Davis, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Humphrey Bogart, Betty Grable, Janet Leigh, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant and others all checked into the chic new digs in the desert.

Ramada bought the property in 1973 and covered some of the “outdated” 1950s design. After a few more decades, the property slipped into disrepair, and closed in 2001. No one wanted to buy the relic. The bulldozers circled.

But so did the preservation buffs.

A fashion show at the Valley Ho in the 1950s

A fashion show at the Valley Ho in the 1950s

The building was placed in the Scottsdale Historic Register. Business partners Scott Lyon and Bill Nassikas of Westroc Hotels bought the site, meticulously returning it to its mid-century origins at a cost of $80 million.

The Valley Ho reopened in late 2005, 49 years after its first grand opening – to repeat immediate success. And it again spurred Scottsdale’s business and tourist growth. It’s hard to now imagine the city without the Valley Ho.

The OH pool at dusk today

The arrival of the hit series Mad Men premiered two years later in 2007, helping to amp the interest in mid-century architecture, design, art, fashion and culture.

One of Valley Ho’s inherent strengths: the property tends to appeal to all age groups. Who is not familiar with, and doesn’t respond to the clean and elegant lines and look of mid-century design?

Frank Lloyd Wright student Edward L. Varney designed the minimalist building, extending wings out from a central pool and lounge. He placed red, cast concrete blocks that resemble abstract arrowheads around roof edges. The 2001-2005 makeover made use of other Varney techniques (masonry, cast and poured concrete, natural stone, and lots of glass) to marry the building to the landscape.

Original architectural details were retained during the extensive 2001-2005 makeover

Scottsdale-based Allen+Philip finessed the renovation, adding a seven-story guest tower based on blueprints found in original designs. All is built and designed to mid-century style – it’s hard to determine where the original building leaves off. Even the new elevator is mid-century dated.

Moreover, the hotel retains the sense of home and comfort that Robert and Evelyn Foehl, who first conceived the property, so carefully cultivated. A retro American restaurant, ZuZu, was also added, mimicking the property’s jet-age design.

Valley Ho lobby

Guest rooms range from tower suite, two-bedroom suite, and loft suite to standard, studio, cabana, terrace and executive suites. The entire interior was gutted during the renovation, turning the rooms into 21st-century versions of their former selves. The only off-putting design element in the suite I occupied were overhead IKEA halogen string lights, which seemed relics from the 1990s.

Superb hiking along the Cholla trail to Camelback Mountain’s eastern side is a few minutes drive from Valley Ho. It’s a 1.6-mile moderate climb with an elevation gain of about 1200 feet. There’s no parking near the trailhead on Cholla Lane. Park instead on Invergordon Rd. and walk up Cholla Lane to the trailhead – just follow the hikers heading up the lane and you’ll spot the entrance.

For other ways to explore the Sonoran Desert, check out this guide, or consider this Scottsdale tourism site that details off-road tours, horseback riding, a hot air balloon adventure or water sports along the Salt and Verde rivers.

Scottsdale has about 600 restaurants dishing up everything from the requisite Southwestern to Asian fusion. A great place to start is True Food Kitchen, in the hip and friendly Scottsdale Quarter. The locally and regionally sourced menu is based on Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet. The oversized, central room has a lot of buzz, and is backed by an open kitchen. I stopped for lunch and sipped a Medicine Man antioxidant blast, saving room for an eggplant pizza.

The Old Town’s Mission serves up modern Latin cuisine, starting with guacamole mixed from a cart right at your table. The food is succulent – I had the Pollo A La Brasa, and for dessert: the signature Pumpkin Bread Pudding – a four-day recipe (it’s soaked overnight in Scotch) that, turns out, has a whole Yelp page devoted to its ambrosial wonder. I’m not surprised.

Old Town Mission restaurant - guacamole made to order

There are back and front patios, the latter with fireplace and fountain. The interior, dark room is warmed and brightened by a wall built of Himalayan rock salt blocks (tequila drinkers purportedly lick it).

While being caught in bad weather doesn’t usually do it for me, there’s something to be said for the sense of peace and quiet that comes over an area as a snowstorm approaches. A light dusting began to fall and I walked through the valley, watching the red clay slowly turn white, the green of the snakegrass beginning to stand out (then it got a little more intense and I had to retreat to the hotel).

I’m staying at The View (which lives up to its name). My balcony faces the valley and the monuments – it’s a spectacular thing to see. I unfortunately only got to experience it for a short time – the fog has pretty much taken care of that now.

That’s all right – I can see and appreciate the potential, the beauty behind the design. It’s a comfortable place with lots of good photography (of Monument Valley) and a nice lobby fireplace.

Famtripper.com takes a Harley Davidson motorcycle trek of the old west with Trailz Motorcycle Tours and contributor Chris Maida. He rides his Harley to the old Tucson Movie Studio and kicks up some dirt on his way to the Bisbee Grand Hotel. Don't forget to watch the video trailer of Easy Rider staring Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda.

I passed through Flagstaff with about an hour until twilight, but the clouds and mountains had other plans, ushering in the darkness before its time. Boat in tow, I retreated to Flagstaff where I'm holding up for the night.

Here are some photos of the drive - it truly was beautiful, the green hills of California giving way to the brown, rocky mountains (which are snow covered in Flagstaff).

Even though the dark sky ruined my chance to see and photograph the rock structures in Sedona, it did create an awfully nice sunset. The clouds were all over the place, some streaking and others glowing.

That's right - across the country I go. I'm departing from Santa Barbara on Sunday morning, Philadelphia being my final destination.

I've spent the past two and a half years soaking up the sun and the sand here in California, but now it's time to move on, to explore the other parts of the country.

I'm going to take the southern route (I'm towing my boat), and I hope to hit Roswell, San Antonio, Austin, Alabama. That's my best guess on the drive - but it's always subject to change once I get on the road.

The only thing I know for sure is that on Sunday night I'll be stopping somewhere near Flagstaff, and on Monday I'll hike Monument Valley and stay the night at The View Hotel: http://www.monumentvalleyview.com.

It looks absolutely stunning, so much different than any other part of the country in terms of its scenery. Fingers crossed for a clear day in the desert.

Someone asked me today if I was ready to leave, and my indifference sort of surprised me. It's weird: As a travel writer, I'm used to moving on. Right now it just feels like the end of any other trip - a sense of sadness for what has passed and excitement for the next thing to come.

Looking at these photos helps to deal with the aforementioned sadness. I can't imagine how big those rock structures are when you're standing next to them.

famtripper fun fact

Eiffel TowerThe total amount of steps in the Eiffel Tower is 1665. Indulge in an enormous amount of pastries and croissants, because you are able to walk to the second level of the tallest building in Paris. The third level, thankfully, is only accessible by elevator.